Hanging on for dear life

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

konajoe would have us all believe that no one but the designers of the equipment can help with the original OP's concerns? maybe he's surrounded by newbies or grumpy old hacks? maybe no one sails with him at all? felt like an attack to me.... to what end?

konajoe · Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Posts: 517

Whoa! Out of context. This thread is more like a tree.

Gaining control on your Kona in high wind:

o Learn to get in footstraps in milder conditions first.

o Advice on boom height, foot position, footstrap position, and technique pointers should be welcomed.

o Rig and tune your sail per the manufacturer of that specific sail model and year. All sails are not the same. (Look at the rigging guides for a random Aerotech sail vs. a random Sailworks sails. The rigging and tuning guides are online). Be very suspicious of someone telling you to rig otherwise. If you think that a rigging guide is wrong or incomplete, contact the manufacturer.

o OP is practicing on the Kona with the intent of going to 2014 Worlds. Great idea! Lots of motivation to practice. But he'll want to do all of that practicing and experimenting with the mast in the recommended forward position. That's the commonly accepted best position per the Kona racers.

uchida · Joined: 06 Apr 2002 Posts: 42

Matt Pritchard in his blog concerning rigging has stated, "don't believe everything you read about settings, especially if you are not using the recommended mast". I for one can't afford to buy new masts every time I get new (actually used) sails. I understand that mast/ sail compatibility is important but sometimes you have to dance with the lady you brought. I've always been able to make due with the RDMs in my kit. One is a 100% carbon Powerex (400) and the other is a 90% carbon (430) Ezzy. I rig them on Sailworks revos (4.0-5.6) and they work just fine after seeking help from a lot of better sailors than myself concerning rigging (kudos to Alex at HI Tech). I would have asked Bruce about tuning my sails but for the life of me I couldn't find him at Kanaha, and I looked everywhere!

Darbonne · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2014 3:40 pm Post subject:

Had two good sessions this weekend. Wind was in the 10 mph range. Thanks to all for the advice and conversation. I have been contemplating many of the comments over the last couple of weeks. One comment that especially stuck in my mind was from Coach, and concerned sheeting in. Although the wind was much lighter ans I was on my Kona 9.0 I moved my harness lines back about 3". This allowed me to use my weight to sheet in more than I usually do. More sheeting in, more MBP, less weight on my feet, more balance and control of the board. I fell like I made some progress. I know I probably could have learned this in an hour with a pro lesson, but I figured it out.